Rhythm of Life
by The Raging Blue Flame
Summary: I wouldn’t exactly call it love at first sight. Hell, I could have cared less about the guy; I just wanted to get a decent bass player. Please R
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1 ~ Meeting You_

_~I wouldn't exactly call it love at first sight. Hell, I could have cared less about the guy; I just wanted to get a decent bass player.~_

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"Luka!" a voice echoed from the entrance of the small music studio. Upon hearing her name, the pink-haired woman shifted her attention from a handful of sheet music to the direction the voice came from. The voice belonged to a grinning Meiko.

Luka raised an eyebrow, "What are you so happy about?"

"We found our bass player!" Meiko replied, her grin still intact. Luka's expression brightened up and she rose to her feet.

"Really, where'd you find them?"

"He's an old friend of Kaito's."

Luka cringed a bit at that statement; she had met Kaito's _friends_ before. One was completely obsessed with leeks. What was her name, Hatsune? She seemed sane enough, until she invited Luka over that is. She had made entire dinner with them; every single dish she had prepared had leeks in it somehow. She sang songs about them and even had a few leek plushies. Her hair was even the same color as a leek; Luka assumed the girl had dyed her hair. Then there were the twins Rin and Len … well at least they _looked_ like twins. Their personalities were polar opposites. Rin was bouncy and energetic while Len was cool and collective yet; they were always together and seemed to get along well. But they had one thing in common, their love for road rollers. Of all things, why a road roller? It was a love Luka hoped to never gain nor understand. '_Twins always seemed kind of creepy, thank you Hollywood_,' Luka thought. The brunette's puzzled look freed Luka from her thoughts.

Meiko grabbed her arm, "Come on, you need to come introduce yourself!"

_'Please be normal, please be normal…'_

In the doorway were Kaito and two other people Luka didn't recognize. One was a tall slender male with the prettiest sky blue eyes Luka had ever seen and … purple hair. _Long _ purple hair at that, Luka mentally gagged and switched her eyes to the green-haired girl. She looked like she had just gotten back from an anime convention. She was dressed in a traditional Japanese variation of that Gothic Lolita style. Luka had to admit, she did look kind of cute.

"Ah, if it isn't our little diva," Kaito said.

"Shut up, Kaito."

"How lady-like. Luka, meet Gakupo Kamui and his sister Gumi."

Luka raised an eyebrow, "Gakupo Kamui, like Gackt Camui?"

"Only better," Gakupo added.

Smug too, the guy hadn't even played a note yet and he was already losing points with Luka. Cute or not he better be one hell of a bass player for her to even consider adding him to the band. And why did he bring his sister?

"Um please excuse Oniichan's rudeness. Please let us show you our talent through our music, Ms. Megurine," Gumi stepped in.

"Do you play bass?" Luka asked, still unsure why Gumi was there.

"No, but I do play the keyboard and piano quite well! I'm not too bad at the flute either."

"But we only need - -"

"Uh like Gumi said; let them show you their talents through their music." Kaito interrupted, looking somewhat worried. "Besides what band have you heard of with only _four_ members?"

"He _does_ have a point," Meiko chimed in.

Luka sighed and placed her hand to her face, this wasn't going as planned. She told Kaito specifically to bring back a _bass player_ not a bass player and pianist. She should have known not to trust Kaito with something so important. '_Oh well,'_ Luka thought. It can't be helped now and it would be cruel to tell the girl that she couldn't audition after being told she could. Even though she kind of wanted to and mentally cursed herself for having gotten a keyboard for the music studio she, Meiko, and Kaito were splitting the bill on. In a way, Kaito did do his job. He just brought someone extra, and who knows, maybe the girl was good. Luka sighed again and removed her hand from her face.

"Ok fine, prove to me that you're worthy." She said finally.

"Yay, I promise you we won't disappoint!" Gumi said with confidence.

Much to Luka's dismay they didn't disappoint, they blew her away. It could have been that they knew the songs that she a thrown at them so she decided to try some of her own songs that she had composed herself to not only test their freestyle skills, but to throw them off as well. Hmm, maybe she was cruel after all! Unfortunately Luka's evil plan had backfired, for Gakupo and Gumi had seemed prepared for her little tricks. Every note was dead on, they stayed in sync with the rest of the group. They didn't over power the others either, and even did their own little solos without going out of key. After a few hours Luka could do nothing more but accept defeat.

"Are we done "proving ourselves" to you yet, Ms. Diva?" Gakupo asked, with an "I-told-you-so" smile on his face.

"We did well, didn't we Oniichan?" Gumi asked.

"Well, you weren't _bad_," Luka added, still somewhat unable to grasp what had just happen.

"That's Luka Speak for: "You two are totally in."" Meiko translated.

"What, it does not!"

"Ah, is Ms. Diva in denial?" Gakupo asked.

Luka shifted her gaze to Gakupo. His cockiness was really putting a strain on her patience. It would only be a matter of time before she ended up punching the guy or worse. An already tarnished reputation would not be good for a band, especially when you're new. If he was going to join them, he obviously needed to know his place. And she was just the person to him there. "You should respect your Diva and keep quiet." Luka said.

"You should watch that sharp tongue of yours, it may get you in trouble."

"You should also, or else girls won't like you!"

"Is that more denial I hear?"

"W-what?!"

"Admit it, you fell for me the moment you saw me."

"Like hell I did!"

While Luka and Gakupo argued, Meiko, Kaito, and Gumi were off to the side negotiating. "So… Luka, Meiko, and I both split the bill for this place so you two will be required to do the same." Kaito said. Gumi nodded, letting Kaito know that she understood.

"_And_," Meiko added, "You will have to find your own way over to the studio for practices. Although the occasional ride every now and then is fine, but don't make a habit of it."

"I understand," Gumi said in an unusually serious tone.

"Same goes for gigs… if we get any that is…"

"I'm sure we will, Ms. Luka has a very angelic voice!"

"Yeah…when she's _singing_," Kaito said; look back at the arguing pair.

"You are such a _dick_!" Luka exclaimed.

"You only say that because you're in denial," Gakupo stated.

"Denial my ass, you're _delusional_!"

"Please excuse Oniichan's behavior," Gumi said to Meiko and Kaito.

"Only if you excuse Luka's," Meiko said.

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 – Getting to Know You_

_~It's a shame you're angry all the time. Those wrinkles will ruin your pretty face.~_

The light tapping of a pencil could be heard in the main room of the music studio, keeping the beat with the rhythm of the sounds of everyday life outside. Despite it being an unnaturally pleasant winter's day outside, a storm was brewing inside. Although one wouldn't know it, unless they were Luka.

She sat at the keyboard, staring deeply at the keys in front of her as if trying to get them to play on their own. Luka felt her frustration grow the longer she looked at them until her frustration finally forced her to bang her fists as well as her head, against the keyboard, causing it to make a loud, less than pleasant sound. Luka sighed loudly, why did she suck so badly at writing music? She had gotten up early hoping to see Kaito there. He was the true song writer, and he wrote most of the lyrics for the songs too. She wanted to show him what she had been working on for quite some time and wanted to run it past him.

Darn, the one day she made the effort to wake up at a decent hour to get to practice and he wasn't even there to watch her gloat. "Stupid Kaito," she said to no one in particular. After a few moments of silence, the tapping of the pencil on the side of the keyboard continued. Luka stared at the lyrics she had spent months to create on the music sheet stand. "Ok, let's try this again…" Luka placed her fingers on the keys in the appropriate position. But before she could play even one note, the sudden sound of approaching footsteps caused her to jump and create another unpleasant sound on the keyboard. Luka turned to confront the person who dared to interrupt her. "Kaito?" Luka asked.

"If it isn't our Princess-Diva."

Luka frowned; it was Gakupo, of all people. She would have wanted anyone but him to have walked through that door, even Gumi. At least she got along with her. "Hi," Luka said flatly and returned her attention back to the keyboard. She was not in the mood to argue and hoped that if she kept her attention off him, he'd leave her alone.

But Luka was never blessed with such luck. Seeing as how they were the only two people in the room, Gakupo must have thought it was only natural to spark some sort of conversation with her. He took a seat in a conveniently placed chair and began tuning his bass guitar. "You're here early," he said calmly.

"Is that a problem, _Mr._ Kamui?" Luka asked, maintaining her flat tone.

Gakupo watched as Luka played seemingly random notes, with a few swear words being uttered under her breath. He shook his head, "Do you even know how to play the keyboard?"

"…Of course I do! Who doesn't know how to play a stupid keyboard?!" Well she was indeed one of those people. Luka was never really interested in learning an instrument. Her voice was her instrument and that was enough.

"Oh really now, well then would mind playing a C for me?"

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

"You're already on the keyboard unless… you're lying."

"Fine!" Luka looked at the keys laid out before her. They all looked the same to her; sure the black keys were placed differently but other than that… Well she decided it was now or never and pressed a random key, hoping it was C.

"Hmm close but that's B, but you were oh so close. This," he stood up and pressed the key to the right of B, "is C."

"… Oh…"

"Whether you're a singer or playing an instrument, you should know the scales." And with that said he went back to his tuning. Luka mentally cursed herself though she hated to admit it, he had a point. With no witty comeback Luka decided to sit there in silence, listening to the tuning of the bass.

A few minutes passed, Luka looked at the clock on the keyboard, it was only 9:30am and practice didn't start until 1pm. A few more minutes passed before the sound of the bass finally ceased. The silence was getting to Luka. Whether or not she liked Gakupo it was kind of awkward just sitting there not saying anything. "Uh… so… how do you know Kaito?" she finally asked.

"I've known him and Meiko since we were kids, Gumi too."

So they all know each other, which explained some things. "I didn't meet Meiko until high school and she introduced Kaito to me. They always seem to be together… are they a couple?"

Gakupo chuckled at Luka's question, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"You can't kill me, I'm a Diva, and we're immortal."

"You live up to that name well."

Luka smiled, "Why thank you!"

The room was filled with bits of laughter before the two found themselves staring at each other. Luka quickly looked away, unsure if she was blushing or not. Gakupo scooted his seat to the front of the keyboard, next to Luka. "Let's learn the scales shall we?" he said calmly. He placed her hands above the center of the keyboard in the proper position. His touch only made Luka's cheeks redder, if her blush wasn't noticeable before, it sure was now.

"What are you _doing_?" Luka managed to say.

"You know the C scale right?" Gakupo asked, completely avoiding her question.

"The what?"

Gakupo sighed, "I'm really starting to wonder what Kaito sees in you."

Slowly, he played the scale for her. Luka listened closely as she watched him play. Wait a second, she knew that scale, she had learned it long time ago when she was a child. But she didn't learn it as a scale, but as a song. "Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re," she sang.

Gakupo smiled, "So you _do_ know something."

"I didn't know it was called a _C_ scale. I didn't learn it that way…"

"It's something. Let's see what else you know."

For the remainder of the morning Gakupo continued to teach Luka and magic and wonder of the keyboard, more specifically, its piano functions. Luka had to admit, she didn't exactly see herself taking piano lessons today. Let alone from someone she didn't really enjoy being around although, it was a nice change to be around Gakupo without getting into an argument. Luka smiled to herself at that thought; maybe things were going to get better. _He is kind of cute…_ she thought to herself. _Even if he does have long… purple… hair… eh, maybe I'll get use to it or even better, I can get him to cut it! _Lost in her thoughts, Luka was unaware that Gakupo was talking to her.

"You got that?" he asked.

"Huh?" Luka asked, slowly returning to reality.

"Has my vast amount of knowledge left you dumbfounded, _Ms._ Megurine?"

Luka frowned, there was the Gakupo she knew and disliked. "Just because you know how to play the keyboard doesn't make you smarter. And besides, I was thinking."

"Well then please share your lusty fantasies then, it would make teaching you 1st grade material much more interesting."

"What?! You're the last one any _normal_ person would fantasize about!"

"But, you're not normal…"

"…. Shut up." Luka turned her attention back to the keyboard and the lyrics on the music stand, "I have better things to do than listen to you insult me. Go play your guitar or something…"

"As you wish … princess-_diva_."

Luka came close to punching Gakupo square in the face but somehow managed to control herself. _Just ignore him Luka, soon the others will be here and you won't have to deal with him._ Luka placed her fingers on the keys once again. _You don't need his help, you're a diva, and you can do anything! I'll show that idiot!_ Unfortunately, her fingers remained on the keys but never played them as she continued to stare at the lyrics before her, unsure of where to start. Not wanting to play random notes and have Gakupo make fun of her again, Luka removed her hands from the keyboard, leaned back in her chair, and sighed.

_Dammit…_

"Sing."

Luka looked up at Gakupo, "What?"

"I said: "sing." You really need to learn how to ask for help and stop trying to do things on your own."

Luka opened her mouth to reply back but thought better of it. She cleared her throat and began to sing the song she tried to play the melody for on the keyboard. "Mata hitotsu inochi no tomoshi bi ga kie ru, sono tsuchi no ue de watashi tachi wa iki te iru no…" While she sung she noticed that Gakupo was matching her notes perfectly on his bass guitar. Feeling a bit more comfortable, Luka began to sing louder, catching the attention of those passing by, including a familiar pair.

"Ah so the diva is blessing the world with her voice once again." Meiko said.

"I'd rather hear her sing then yell…" Kaito said. The two stood there amongst the quickly growing crowd and listened to Luka. "Hmm, I've never heard that song before. Could it be…"

"That our princess has learned to make songs on her own?!" Meiko finished, "I think not. Her hands may get dirty from the guitar strings."

"And we wouldn't want _that_." Kaito said, rolling his eyes. "Well, at least we know her voice will bring a crowd in."

"We should go see what kind of witchcraft she's using."

While the two battled the crowd to enter the building, the singing had attracted the attention of a rather out of place woman. She wore a white business suit with matching white heels and carried a designer purse. With her long curly blond hair and designer sunglasses you'd think she should be in a fancy limo. The woman removed her sunglasses and looked up at the building and smiled, "Such a unique voice… Hey you, do you know who is singing?" she asked the person in front of her.

"Nope, but whoever she is, she's good!" they answered.

The blond frowned, what kind of answer was that? Suddenly her cell phone started to ring in her bag. After some searching, she finally founded it, "Hello?" she asked flatly. "Oh it's you sir! Um no not yet… but I think I may have found what we've been looking for."

Back inside the studio, the group was discussing Luka's song. "I liked it. You have a pretty voice, Ms. Luka." Gumi said.

"Why thank you Gumi!" Luka said proudly.

"The lyrics could flow better…" Kaito said.

"But they were good, right Kaito?" Luka asked.

"Uh, sure."

"The melody is nice." Meiko said, "Did you do it?"

"Well--"

"Of course she didn't." Gakupo jumped in, "She doesn't even know where C is located on a keyboard!"

In one swift motion, Luka caught Gakupo off guard and punched him in the face, causing him to hit the floor. She would have done further damage if she had not been stopped by Kaito.

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A/N: Hello to all and I'm glad that so many enjoyed me story so far! Sorry for updating so late, life called XD

Hope you enjoyed the Luponess, see you next chapter! 8D


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